Just a few years ago, Earl and Janice Peck hoped
that they would celebrate this Christmas with a flourishing business
and a growing family. But thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
and Service (USFWS) and the State of North Carolina, those dreams
now lie in ruins.

Earl and Janice moved from Connecticut to Rocky Mount, North
Carolina in 1991 to look after Earl's mother, who was suffering
from Alzheimer's disease. Despite his excellent record of raising
money to support disabled individuals, Earl had trouble finding
work because he isn't college-educated.

Earl decided to use his considerable entrepreneurial skills
and start his own business. Since he loves to cook, Earl established
International Home Cooking, a mail order food business that specialized
in filling a wide variety of orders from restaurants and individuals
all over the country. Janice, who Earl had just married, invested
her entire life savings in the business. Earl sold alligator,
rattlesnake, emu, lion and even camel meat. Everything was perfectly
legal. He registered his business with the North Carolina Secretary
of State's Office and obtained the necessary permits from the
county and city governments. All the meat he sold he purchased
from established suppliers that submitted to inspections either
by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the state.1

Within months, Earl was getting so many orders that he had
to move out of his home and rent commercial office space. Earl
took care of advertising and marketing while Janice, his silent
partner, took care of bookkeeping and other office-related duties.
By 1995, International Home Cooking was on track to record $100,000
in sales.

As Christmas approached that year, Earl and Janice had a lot
to be thankful for and a lot of hopes as well. Earl and Janice
planned to have a baby.

Then their nightmare started.

In November 1995, USFWS agents accosted Earl, detained him
and ransacked his home in a SWAT-like raid. The USFWS and the
State of North Carolina charged Earl with violating laws protecting
endangered species after he sold black bear meat to an undercover
agent.2

Earl's business fell apart. Unable to meet his orders, vendors
and suppliers began demanding payment of outstanding bills. Says
Earl, "We were going into debt very hard and very fast."
That Christmas was torture. "For all I knew I was going
to be hauled off to jail on Christmas day," says Earl. "My
doctor had to give me tranquilizers to cope with the stress."

Earl and Janice postponed having a baby.

But the USFWS had targeted an innocent man. Earl's alleged
crime was actually a perfectly legal transaction. Earl purchased
the bear meat from a USDA-inspected South Dakota supplier. The
North Carolina Wildlife Commission argued that he was breaking
a state law that forbids the sale of bear and deer meat. But
that law was aimed at protecting bear and deer native to the state,
not from elsewhere. Even the state Department of Agriculture
said that Earl did not break any law.3

That was also the conclusion of the federal government. In
May 1996, the U.S. Attorney's office sent Earl a letter informing
him that he wouldn't be prosecuted due to "insufficient federal
interest."4

However, that was not enough to save his business. To this
day, Earl cannot reopen his business because state officials will
not give him a definitive answer about what kind of meats he can
sell. "It's ridiculous. There are restaurants and former
business competitors selling meats the state claimed I was selling
illegally, yet nothing is done to them," says Earl.

This Christmas, Earl and Janice do not plan to exchange gifts.
"We have been spending the last five years trying to pay
off business debts," says Earl. "It's iffy that we
will even buy a tree."

From happier Christmases, Earl fondly remembers the gifts Janice
gave him, such as power tools for his carpentry hobby. Now, Earl
uses those tools to provide a living for himself and his wife
by doing odd jobs around the neighborhood such as painting, mowing
lawns and fixing plumbing.

Earl would dearly love to hold the government accountable for
the injustice inflicted on him and Janice, but state and federal
officials consider the case closed. Not even a sympathetic U.S.
senator's office can do anything for the couple.